A Tehran appeal court confirmed the sentence, which was handed down in December 2010 and included a 20-year ban on making films, travelling abroad or speaking to the press, during a hearing last week. Government-backed newspaper Iran said the neo-realist film-maker was being punished for acting against national security and creating anti-regime propaganda. While not yet imprisoned, Panahi is banned from speaking to the media or travelling outside of Iran.

Panahi's co-director Mojtaba Mirtahmasb was arrested and charged with espionage for working for the BBC shortly before the film's premiere at the Toronto film festival last month. His fate is unclear, as is that of three other film-makers arrested on the same charges: Katayoun Shahabi, Hadi Afarideh and Shahnam Bazdar. Two further directors, Naser Safarian and Mohsen Shahrnazdar, were recently released by authorities.

Panahi, an outspoken supporter of Iran's opposition Green movement and critic of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was initially arrested in July 2009 after he made clear his support for protesters killed following Iran's disputed presidential election. He was soon released but denied permission to leave the country. In February 2010, he was arrested with his family and colleagues and taken to Tehran's Evin prison. Panahi's colleague, Mohammad Rasoulof, who was arrested at the same time and initially jailed for six years, had his sentence reduced to one year at the hearing last week.

Panahi's lawyer, Farideh Gheyrat, said she had only learned about the court's ruling through the media on Sunday. She told the student news agency ISNA that she would lodge an appeal at Iran's supreme court.

Panahi won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes film festival in 1995 for his debut feature, The White Balloon, and the Golden Lion at Venice for his 2000 drama, The Circle. His other films include Crimson Gold and Offside. He is highly regarded around the world but his films are banned at home. Film-makers and actors such as Ken Loach, Martin Scorsese and Juliette Binoche have been active in their support for the campaign to secure his release.